32 Miles to the Gas Station

I saw the full moon this morning in the north west sky as I went to work.  I admired the beauty.  Every month I forget how much havoc a full moon can have.  Today was a crazy day as all full moon days are.  Some people were unusually agitated, others regrettably too passive.  Some people took things.  Others had high blood pressure, confusion, and denial.  It was just nuts at work. Even my printer, which has a 15 year history of printing crisp documents, went all smeary on me today.  It was all a little frustrating.  But the weather was nice so I decided to skip the after work exercise session and go for a ride on my bike.  I peeked into the gas tank and saw gas so I thought I'd head west and see where I ended up.  I turned on Nowthen Boulevard and turned east on 185th - by the Mork well digging sign.  If you haven't taken this road before it is a beauty.  The road is straight and with plenty of visibility at first.  Once you get past the Berry Hill Farm, the road dips down, curves, and trees grow close the road and close the gap over your head.  As you come out of a right hand curve, you'll see Tommy's Zoo on the right.  You will do a double take and wonder, "Is that what I think it is?"  Yes, it is what you think it is.  There is a camel in the field in Ramsey.  As the road turns into 187th, I took a left onto Cleary Road.  I took another left on County Road 22 and went through Nowthen.  My motor chugged just a little.  I couldn't be out of gas because I saw gas when I started out, right?  I took a right on County Road 13 and a left on County Road 33.  I love the curvy hills on 33.  Just as I passed over 169, the motor chugged again.  I have felt this hesitation before - when I ran out of gas.  I pulled over and looked in the tank.  I could see a little gas in the bottom, very little.  The bike wouldn't start.  I set the gas lever to the reserve position and then it ran fine.  I tuned south on County Road 1 into the town of Elk River so I could fill up the tank.  When I left the house I slipped a bottle of Stabil fuel stabilizer into the waist band of my jeans.  I added the Stabil at the gas station and then added gas.  I ended up adding over 2 and a half gallons of gas.  So the tank was on empty even though I could still see gas at the bottom.  Seeing isn't always believing.  I wish I had a fuel indicator.  Because there was a full moon, the sun was getting low, and this was a crazy day, I thought it would be best for me to get home.  I took the back roads from Elk River to my house with no problems.  My bike has a full tank of stabilized gas.  Today may have been my last bike ride of 2010.